Surface water quality in Otsego County, NY, prior to potential natural gas exploration 1 Sarah Crosier Abstract –Baseline water quality data was established for Otsego County, NY prior to potential natural gas exploration. Hydraulic fracturing may contaminate surface water with chemicals, salts and sediments. Averages for pH, total dissolved solids, and conductivity were calculated for 50 Otsego County streams from data collected using a YSI® multi-parameter probe from August 2010 – April 2012. Limestone bedrock sub-watersheds had significantly higher conductivity, TDS and pH than shale bedrock sub-watersheds. Winter and summer peaks and fall and spring lows occurred in conductivity and TDS. Road salt use, precipitation and evaporation likely caused seasonal variation. Sub-watershed size had no significant effect on parameters. These data will serve as a control for future water quality testing if hydraulic fracturing occurs in Otsego County, NY. INTRODUCTION This study was conducted to identify baseline water quality conditions at base flow for streams in Otsego County. Water quality varies between streams due to different physical, chemical, and microbiological characteristics (Rajeshwari and Saraswathi 2009). These factors are dependent upon topography, geology, vegetative cover (Dosskey et al. 2010), land use in a watershed (Ou and Wang 2011) and watershed size (Landers et al. 2007). Stream chemistry varies naturally throughout the seasons due to changes in precipitation, evaporation, nutrient input, and biotic activity within the streams. Anthropogenic pollutants such as road salt (Jackson and Jobbágy 2005, Kaushal et al. 2005), urban storm water runoff and agricultural pesticides, nutrients, and sediments (Madden et al. 2007) also affect stream quality variably. Stream quality may differ between years, particularly due to changes in flow conditions due to higher or lower-than-average rainfall. The goal was to ascertain the range of water quality parameters common in pre-drilling Otsego County so that we may detect changes in water quality should natural gas exploration occur. Hydrofracturing for natural gas may cause water degradation due to chemical, salt, or sediment contamination (Balyszak 2011). Conductivity, pH, and total dissolved solids (TDS) are basic water quality parameters used to identify contamination of water due to natural gas drilling (EPA 2011). We monitored these water quality variables monthly in 50 streams in Otsego County. If pollution occurs from potential natural gas activities, we expect conductivity and TDS to rise (due to more ions present) and for pH to decrease due to increased acidity from chemicals used for hydrofracturing. Various combinations of chemicals are used to facilitate the fracturing process. For example, pH may increase because acid, such as hydrochloric acid, is used to dissolve minerals and initiate cracks in rock from which gas may be extracted (EPA 2011). 1 Otsego County SWCD intern. Environmental Sciences, State University of New York College at Oneonta, Oneonta, New York 13820. By monitoring at base flow conditions, we identified the natural variation of stream water quality in Otsego County. We were able to observe when, how often, and how much water quality parameters vary throughout the year. Knowing these ranges can allow us to detect surface water quality issues in the future. Our focus was to establish baseline conditions prior to potential natural gas exploration, but the information gained can allow us to document other pollutions that may occur within the County. FIELD SITE DESCRIPTION We conducted this study in Central New York in Otsego County, which is located west of Albany, southeast of Utica, and northeast of Binghamton. Otsego County is part of the Upper Susquehanna River Watershed. Following protocols established by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission used in their Remote Monitoring Network, we selected 50 sites on low-order streams (Table 1) throughout Otsego County, NY. We chose low order streams that drain 170 square kilometers or less to account for the sensitivity of our field instruments. Figure 1 is a map showing monitoring site locations. Sites are located at the terminus of each sub-watershed and are easily accessible from or next to bridges. A sub-watershed in this paper refers to the area of land draining to a monitoring site. The watersheds in which the monitoring sites are located are defined by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) 12-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) and are listed in Table 1. METHODS Equipment A YSI Professional Plus® multi-parameter meter was used to collect pH, conductivity, temperature, and TDS data as well as time and date information. Monitoring SUNY Oneonta students and Otsego County Soil and Water District employees conducted water monitoring from August 13, 2010 - April 21, 2012. We visited each of the 50 sites monthly. Some sites were not monitored as frequently due to inaccessibility from ice formation, hazardous access, or time constraints. Analysis Sub-watershed area- ArcGIS® was used to display average conductivity and pH values for data collected from August 2010-August 2011 for each of the sub-watersheds. Relationships between the means of TDS, pH, conductivity and sub-watershed area were tested using Spearman’s Rank Correlation using SYSTAT®. Geology- Sites were divided into two categories: limestone, and shale (Figure 1), based on the geology of the area according to the Otsego County Soil Survey (Figure 2). Some sites were not included because their respective sub-watersheds were both shale and limestone based. A Mann-Whitney Test was run using Minitab® on data from 45 sub-watersheds to determine if bedrock was significantly correlated with conductivity. Stream monitoring location Primarily Limestone with some shale Shale, siltstone, and sandstone Figure 1. Sites sampled for water quality in Otsego County, NY from 13Aug10 – 21Apr12 with bedrock geology. See Table 1 for a list of stream names and the corresponding identification numbers. Table 1. Sites monitored for water quality in Otsego County, NY from 13Aug10 – 21Apr12. Sites listed by sub-watershed name. HUC codes are used by the NYSDEC, NRCS, and USGS for delineating watershed boundaries. The 12 digit code used here is the smallest unit of watershed depicted. Site ID refers to site number in Figure 1. Bridge location is where the site was accessed from. Area (km2) is the area of the sub-watershed. Sub-Watershed Site ID HUC Town Coordinates Bridge Area (km2) Geologya Area sq mi N W Aldrich Brook 17 020501010802 Morris 42.55701 75.22853 State Hwy 51, south Cty Hwy 49 18.1 S 7.0 Brier Creek 23 020501011102 Otego 42.37381 75.21772 State Rt 7, west of Cty Hwy 5 23.1 S 8.9 Cahoon Creek 14 020501010803 Butternuts 42.47196 75.31449 Bloom Street, east of Butternut Creek 27.4 S 10.6 Campbell Brook 24 020501010905 Plainfield 42.82387 75.23535 Cty Hwy 18, south of Cty Hwy 21, X Pritchard 12.5 L 4.8 Chase Creek 36 020501010604 Middlefield 42.6579 74.96046 State Hwy 28, across from SPCA 19.5 L 7.5 Cripple Creek 39 020501010603 Springfield 42.81396 74.9005 State Hwy 80, across from Bartlet Rd 40.6 L 15.7 Decatur Creek 42 020501010303 Worcester 42.5914 74.75387 State Hwy 7, east of Cty Hwy 39 34.9 L 13.5 Dunderberg Creek 15 020501010803 Butternuts 42.47233 75.31643 Bloom Street, west of Butternut Creek 16.2 S 6.2 Elk Creek 39 020501010302 Maryland 42.54499 74.84201 State Hwy 7, east of Valder Road 85.3 L 33.0 Flax Island Creek 10 020501011101 Otego 42.38968 75.18527 State Rt 7, west of Flax Island Road 13.1 S 5.1 Fly Creek 1 020501010103 Otsego 42.71806 74.98177 State Hwy 28/80 east of Village 36.6 L 14.1 Harrison/Cooper Creeks 6 020501010504 Laurens 42.48724 75.11815 Cty Hwy 11, North of State Hwy 23 22.6 S 8.7 Hayden Creek 8 020501010603 Springfield 42.82129 74.88303 Cty Hwy 53, East of State 80 24.1 L 9.3 Herkimer Creek 33 020501010102 Richfield 42.78866 75.0247 State Hwy 28, south of Taylor Road 22.8 L 8.8 Hinman Hollow Brook 37 020501010604 Milford 42.59509 74.0457 State Hwy 28, south of Oxbow Road 20.8 L 8.0 Hyder Creek 32 020501010102 Richfield 42.81657 75.01965 State Hwy 28, north of Wing Hill Road 24.2 L 9.4 Indian/Sand Hill Creeks 11 020501011103 Unadilla 42.37147 75.26382 State Hwy 7, east of Cty Hwy 3a 37.3 S 14.4 Lake Brook 3 020501010503 Laurens 42.53328 75.08913 Brook Street, south of Town Hall 16.8 S 6.5 Lidell Creek 26 020501010103 Exeter 42.75981 75.02778 State Hwy 28 south of Cty Hwy 16 * L * Middle Wharton Creek 35 020501010702 Edmeston 42.70475 75.24465 State Hwy 80, South of Burdick Ave 167.8 L 64.8 Mill Creek 23 020501010703 Edmeston 42.70471 75.24458 Cty Hwy 20, across from Bert White Road 24.8 L 9.6 Moorehouse Brook 21 020501010304 Maryland 42.53473 74.89551 State Rt 7, east of Cty Hwy 42 18.6 7.2 Morris Brook 16 020501010803 Morris 42.5088 75.28967 St Hwy 51, across from Dimmock Hollow Rd 20.2 S 7.8 O'Connel Brook 48 020501010203 Middlefield 42.6908 74.84377 Moore Road, South off State Hwy 166 8.5 L 3.3 Oneonta Creek 7 020501010606 Oneonta 42.45571 75.05533 Fair Street, under J. Lettis Hwy 21.5 S 8.3 Oquiniuos Creek 31 020501010102 Richfield 42.85014 74.99079 Elm Street, south of Town 52.7 L 20.3 Otsdawa Creek 9 020501011101 Otego 42.39995 75.17185 State Hwy 7, East of Cty Hwy 7 51.9 S 20.1 Palmer Creek 41 020501010303 Maryland 42.5652 74.78461 State Hwy 7, west of Gohan road 4.8 1.9 Pleasant Brook 45 020501010201 Roseboom 42.71973 74.76939 State Hwy 165, North of Pleasant Brook 56.5 L 21.8 Pool Brook